By Natalie Pressman and Jackie Bastianon<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”51.625px|0px|0|0px|false|false”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_margin=”-20px||” custom_padding=”0|0px|11px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.9″ custom_margin=”-20px||” hover_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n A lab technician examines a piece of lab grown meat up close underneath a microscope in the Pelling Lab at the University of Ottawa [Photo courtesy of Pelling Lab Media].<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”4px|0px|0|0px|false|false”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”11px|0px|25.8125px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″]<\/p>\n As the world becomes increasingly aware of the global, long-term impact of their choices, consumers are pushing for more ethical and environmentally sustainable products. One of the industries looking to take advantage of this trend is cellular agriculture, or lab-grown meats.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lab-grown meat consists of meat cells, derived from animals but grown in a petri dish rather than being cut from a live animal. The industry is aimed at people looking to make more ecologically-friendly or cruelty-free choices, and who just can\u2019t give up their appetite for flesh.<\/p>\n Some industry advocates predict lab meat might be on supermarket shelves within five years. They argue that lab meat is an ethical and environmental solution to factory farming. They suggest that by moving agriculture into the lab, the industry can cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, land coverage, and energy consumption, as well as avoid the harsh conditions of slaughterhouses.\u00a0<\/p>\n But not everyone is convinced that lab meat achieves all these goals\u2014and least not yet. A lack of transparency about the processes for making lab meat is concerning to Andrew Pelling<\/a>, a University of Ottawa scientist researching lab meat. He warns that the lab meat industry has some major problems to address before going mainstream\u2014issues with the source of ingredients used to make lab meat that he said are not being properly disclosed to the public.<\/p>\n \u201cI think these startups, and anybody with a commercial interest in these companies, needs to start being very transparent about what they\u2019re expecting us to put in our bodies,\u201d Pelling said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s an unreasonable request as a consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n The biggest issue, according to Pelling, is a compound called fetal bovine serum, or FBS. This serum is what enables meat cells to grow in a petri dish, but the problem lies in the way the solution is sourced. It comes, he said, from cow fetus blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTo get cells to grow you need to actually kill cows and abort a fetal calf,\u201d said Pelling. \u201cYou kill the mother, you kill the baby, you suck the blood out of the fetus and you feed the cells this blood.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/55835910_2142158942499636_8223321002566746112_n.jpg” align_tablet=”center” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.23″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”0|0px|3px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ custom_margin=”-40px||”]<\/p>\n The fridge in the Pelling lab at the University of Ottawa is stocked with bottles of fetal bovine serum (FBS). This is one of the most critical, but controversial ingredients involved in the creation of lab grown meat. [Photo \u00a9\ufe0f\u00a0Jackie Bastianon]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”0|0px|25.8125px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″]<\/p>\n Devang Mehta, co-author of the Massive Science Report on lab-meat<\/a>, and post-doctoral researcher in plant genetics at the University of Alberta, described FBS as a mystery elixir for growing lab meat.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFBS is pretty complex chemically and it also varies from batch to batch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t exactly know which parts of FBS are required to grow the cells. It would be quite challenging to replace [FBS] right now, at least with the current knowledge that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite global research, details of FBS are not openly displayed on company packaging or websites. For Pelling, that lack of clarity is alarming.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just so easy to get bought into all the hype,\u201d he said. \u201cI think these companies and researchers have a responsibility to be transparent. There\u2019s a lot of marketing lingo out there now that I find very misleading.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to FBS, Pelling said producing meat cells requires large quantities of antibiotics to kill the bacteria growing alongside it.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re growing cells in this nutrient rich, warm environment and bacteria love that,\u201d said Pelling.<\/p>\n If consumers understood the extent to which the meat is pumped with antibiotics, levels much higher than factory farming, he\u2019s doubtful it\u2019s something they would want to eat. For Pelling, discussion is the key to finding solutions: His research, funded by New Harvest<\/a>, which is a donor-funded research institute dedicated to the field of cellular agriculture, aims to find ways around producing lab meat with FBS and high quantities of antibiotics. For now though, he can\u2019t get other labs to talk about their processes.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”0|0px|0|0px|false|false”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”25.8125px|0px|0|0px|false|false” column_structure=”1_4,1_2,1_4″][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.21″]<\/p>\n Loading…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Loading...\"](\"https:\/\/create.piktochart.com\/loading.gif\"\/)
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